The Sinner

Here we go round the prickly pear,

prickly pear, prickly pear.

Here we go round the prickly pear,

prickly pear, prickly pear.

5:00 in the morning.

Ambrose.

I can hold forensics off.

If you want a bit more time, just say the word.

Nah, send them through.

I'm sorry.

Barnhill.

When was the last time we had a location on Burns?

Last night he was sitting at the Haven Residence Inn.

Haven't had him since.

Let's put out a BOLO right now.

State troopers, county enforcement...

let's get 'em informed and then mobilize 'em.

Hey, I'm not doubting it's Jamie Burns.

I just don't understand. Why the captain?

I don't know.

He's planning something.

Staties are on the line now.

They wanna coordinate traffic stops.

You're in charge now. It's what the captain wanted.

- Is that BOLO out? - Yeah.

Okay, then start interviewing potential eyewitnesses

at the clubhouse and Route Nine, okay?

All right. Vic Soto.

We need to cover anywhere that Burns has been:

this house, Haven Inn, train station, wherever.

- Yes, sir. - Thanks.

Lieutenant Ambrose,

just found this in the captain's jacket.

Thought you should see it.

Yeah.

That was so good.

Catch.

So... hey, Eli! See you next week.

Yeah.

How does he usually get home?

He walks home with one of our neighbors down the street.

The studio thinks they left together, but they're not sure.

Where is the studio?

In Clinton Hill... about a 20-minute walk from home.

Okay, so he might still be with his friend then.

Maybe, but he should have texted me back by now.

He knows to do that.

Dad, what's going on?

Look, there might be somebody

who's trying to hurt you and him.

What? What do you mean?

I can't talk about it right now,

I just... Okay, stay there and don't go home, all right?

'Cause your apartment isn't secure.

Somebody's coming in.

Look, I'll have to call you back.

- Wait... - It's gonna be okay.

Stay where you are.

The warrant rush came through.

His phone is turned off,

but the last ping was Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

What, what? What's going on?

That's where Eli is. I was just talking to Mel.

She hasn't heard from him.

Okay, well, we don't know anything yet.

He could be fine.

Where are you going?

I'm going where that phone was.

Call me with any tracking updates.

Okay, I'll get Detective Jones

at NYPD on board too.

Hi.

Hey, look, I hate to call you like this

and ask you to do something,

but you gotta leave your house right now.

- What? - It's Jamie Burns.

There's been another murder.

Who?

He was from the precinct. Look, you gotta get out, okay?

'Cause right now you're a potential target.

Wait... wait, you mean like last time

- when he went into the city? - No, no.

This is... he's trying to get to me.

He's targeting people...

people that he knows are important to me.

Where are you? Are you... are you okay?

Yeah, I'm all right.

Okay, I... I'll leave.

Let me know where and when you're settled.

Okay, thank you.

Don't worry.

You're gonna be here until when?

Detective Jones already ordered

round the clock surveillance, so, if it's not me,

it's gonna be someone else rotating through.

Okay, let me know when you swap out.

Yes, sir.

I have to get back to Dorchester.

The officer is gonna be staying with you.

I heard.

We'll find Eli.

Why is that man doing this?

He's baiting me.

Why?

What did you do to him?

It's hard to say.

Dad, you gotta start talking to me now,

or I'm gonna go crazy.

I'm gonna do everything I can.

Nobody's gonna get hurt.

We'll find him.

You left the back door open.

Harry must have warned you.

He did.

But you decided to stay anyway.

How's the portrait coming?

I don't know if I can do it.

Why?

Everything feels trivial, fake.

You've led me into a bit of a crisis.

Actually, I've been doubting

my work, how I paint, all of it.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Maybe you're on the brink of something new.

And you?

You have been through a lot recently.

You know I came here to kill you.

I thought that might be the case.

But you decided to take your chances.

I don't think you really wanna do it.

Why not?

Because... I've seen you.

I see the struggle in you.

I've killed three people...

And every time, I keep waiting for someone or something,

some voice...

God maybe... to come in

and stop me, but nothing ever does.

And I realize that expectation is just my conscience.

There's no one actually watching.

There's no meaning.

There's just the before and the after.

It all just is.

And once you realize that,

everything becomes so clear.

It's like staring straight into eternity.

That's an awfully lonely place to be.

We're all in that place from the day we're born.

Everyone's just too scared to admit it.

That's such a hard way to live a life, isn't it?

It's honest.

But what about other people?

You still need them, don't you? You can't just shut them away.

You don't want that.

Jamie, you could have hurt me by now,

but you haven't.

You waited because you wanted to talk.

That's something.

You can stop.

You just... you choose.

You choose to return to the world.

Return to who?

To a family that doesn't want me anymore?

To Harry Ambrose the fucking hypocrite?

Maybe we're all hypocrites.

Maybe that's the only way through a life.

You shouldn't have stayed here.

You should've left.

Jamie.

I... they're on their way. I signaled them minutes ago.

Well...

Now we're finally being honest.

No, please don't do this.

No! No!

No, no, no, no!

No, no!

No...

No, no!

Police!

How you doing? You okay?

- Out the back! - I'm on it!

Got eyes on him?

You holding up all right?

I need to ask you, and I'm sorry to do this now,

but we don't have much time.

Did he mention anything about my grandson, Eli?

No.

Anything about what he was gonna do

or where he was gonna go?

I'm sorry.

Why didn't you leave your house when I told you to?

I... I knew it was dangerous...

But I... I just couldn't stop myself.

You wanted to see him again.

I thought that maybe

I... I could reach him.

It was like a test.

I wanted it.

I wanted to survive it.

Harry, when you find him,